This invention relates to an apparatus and method for monitoring and controlling usage of water. Various electrical controls for plumbing fixtures are known in the art. Some examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,323 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,258. These controls typically employ water valves operated electrically by solenoids, together with various types of switches for activating the solenoids at desired times. The switches include pushbutton switches, infrared sensors in reflective mode or break-beam mode for determining when a user is present and when water should be supplied.
One of the problems with prior art controls is their inherent lack of flexibility. The controls can only perform one function with one type of fixture. Yet there is a wide variety of plumbing fixtures that need to be controlled, such as sinks (with temperature controlled either by pre-set hot and cold water mixing or user-selectable mixing), showers, urinals and water closets. It is also sometimes desirable to control related apparatus such as soap dispensers and towel dispensers. Existing controls cannot be used with all of these different facilities, at least not without substantial alteration of their basic functions to the point of totally rebuilding the controls to suit a different device. Further complications arise due to the fact that some controlled devices (sinks, showers, soap dispensers) need to respond to the arrival or presence of a user, while other devices (urinals, water closets) need to be aware of the presence of a user but not operate until the user leaves a target zone. Prior art controls are simply not set up to operate multiple types of fixtures in the various modes needed.
In many institutional settings it would also be desirable to allow the operator of the facility to select particular operating characteristics of an apparatus. For example, in dormitories and barracks it might be useful to limit the length of time a shower will operate. Correctional institutions may want to limit the number of times a water closet may be flushed within a given time window. Health care or food service operations may prefer a hand washing apparatus which will assure proper hand washing procedure by the restaurant employees or hospital personnel in order to reduce the chance of contamination. Being able to choose these limits would be highly useful in these settings and others but the lack of flexibility in existing controls prevents it.
Another desirable feature of water usage controls is the ability to monitor remotely what is going on at a particular fixture or at all fixtures throughout a building or institution. A further desirable feature would be to alter remotely how a particular fixture operates. This requires communications capabilities that are not found in existing controls.